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Event
The Mystery of Modern Art: Esotericism, Magic, and Spiritualism among Contemporary Artists: An Illustrated Presentation with Massimo Introvigne
Date: Wednesday, November 2nd
Time: 7pm
Admission: $8
Location: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 Third Avenue, 11215 Brooklyn, NY
Contrary to popular perception, early 20th century modern artists were not necessarily materialists. While some of them were part of mainstream religions, a significant number were either members of, or deeply influenced by, avant garde religious movements and esoteric groups, especially the Theosophical Society. Some artists believed that their hands were actually guided by the spirits of the deceased or various supernatural beings. Other practiced occult rituals in connection with the production of their works. Some tried to establish new religions and forms of spirituality based on art itself.
Both academia and the media has often censored the connections between modern art and esotericism. Concerned that relationships with esoteric movements might expose leading modern artists to accusations of irrationality, they adopted strategies to make these relations, which were crucial to the birth of modern art, almost invisible to the general public. It is now great time to make the invisible visible, and to unveil the esoteric mysteries of modern art.
Massimo Introvigne is a professor of Sociology in Torino, Italy and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR). In 2011, he served as Representative for Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and members of other religions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which the U.S. are also a member. He is the author of some sixty books about religious pluralism and esotericism, including the monumental Satanism: A Social History (Brill 2016), and of more than one hundred articles in academic publications, several of them devoted to the relationship between esoteric and occult movements and modern art.
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LocationMorbid Anatomy Museum (View)
424 A Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
United States
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